The Kansas Association of Broadcasters has joined with the Kansas Press Association, Sunshine Coalition and Kansas Institute for Government Transparency in filing a Kansas Open Meetings Act complaint after members of the media were kicked out of a recent Kansas Senate meeting.
Earlier this week, several protestors disrupted a Senate hearing on Medicaid expansion. The protestors were cleared from the meeting, and the complaint says different media outlets covering the hearing were also told to leave.
Senate President Susan Wagle says the move to clear reporters was made because they were giving the protestors publicity. The media groups filing the protest with Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt say that action was “clearly an unconstitutional breach of both the Kansas Constitution’s and US Constitution’s right to liberty of the press. The media coalition also says the step to clear media from the hearing violates the Kansas Senate’s own rules on meetings being open to the public and press.
Wagle disagrees. In a series of tweets, she said she called a recess to clear the Senate chambers for safety concerns. She also said there was no point in time when reporters were denied access to the proceedings.
The complaint is now under review by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
